Limited Paper: Galery1988’s Oscars-Themed Art Show Involves Hundreds of Free Posters, New Work From Olly Moss, Mark Englert, More

All week long, rumors have circulated about a “top-secret” event taking place in Los Angeles next weekend. We mentioned that an announcement was forthcoming back on Monday or Tuesday, and in the time since…well, lemme tell ya: you wouldn’t believe some of the crazy theories and rumors people emailed in to Limited Paper HQ. We heard “it’s a Banksy show”, that “it’s definitely a Hanksy show”, that it was an all-Olly-Moss joint, that an entire crew of artists were involved and that they’d all been forced to sign contracts preventing them from revealing anything about this mystery event prior to the official announcement. Somewhere in the middle of all that, Gallery1988’s Twitter feed promised that whatever was being planned would be a “game-changer”. What’s the truth? Find out after the jump.

We’ve all been waiting for details on this “top-secret” mystery show ever since rumors started circulating about its existence last weekend. For the longest time, all we really knew was that whatever-it-was would be happening on Oscar weekend (that’s next weekend, for those of you who aren’t super-invested in Hollywood pageantry). Shortly thereafter, crazy theories made their way through the collecting community, each sillier and more outlandish than the last. Things reached a fever pitch the day before yesterday, when Gallery1988’s Twitter feed confirmed the date and warned of an oncoming “game-changer”. Since then, we’ve avidly awaited details.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and Gallery1988 will present “For Your Consideration,” their first collaborative exhibition featuring art inspired by the 2012 Best Picture Oscar® nominees, on display February 14 through 17 at Gallery1988 Melrose in Los Angeles. The images can currently be viewed in a digital gallery at Oscar.com.

“Working hand-in-hand with the Academy has been a dream come true for Gallery1988 and its artists,” said Jensen Karp, co-owner and co-curator of Gallery1988. “So much inspiration has come from past Oscar telecasts as well as the amazing range of films that have been nominated this year. It was a perfect fit for our style of artwork and treatment, and we can’t wait to show everyone the results of some of our most creative contemporary minds.”

The Academy and Gallery1988 commissioned a small group of young international artists to create original screen prints inspired by this year’s nine Best Picture nominees. The participating artists and their respective films are Matt Owen Amour, Anthony PetrieArgo, Rich Kelly Beasts of the Southern Wild, Mark Englert Django Unchained, Phantom City Creative Les Misérables, Tom WhalenLife of Pi, Jeff Boyes Lincoln, Joshua Budich Silver Linings Playbook and Godmachine Zero Dark Thirty.

These screen prints are not available for purchase; however, fans will have several opportunities to obtain limited edition posters. On each day of “For Your Consideration,” Gallery1988 will give away free posters to the first 100 people who visit the gallery at a specified time. For information on when each film poster will be distributed, visit nineteeneightyeight.com or follow Gallery1988 on Twitter (@galleries1988) and Facebook (gallery1988). Fans outside the Los Angeles area can find out about poster giveaway opportunities by following the Academy on Twitter (@TheAcademy) and Facebook (TheAcademy).

If you were following along with us as this story developed, you probably noticed the article we ran earlier today about the 9 posters based on this year’s “Best Picture” nominees, and at the time we really had no idea where the prints would be going on sale, what they might cost, how many of ‘em there might be—all we knew was what they looked like (we’ve re-run a few of our favorites here — including Mark Englert’s Django Unchained, Rich Kelly’s Beasts of The Southern Wild, Tom Whalen’s Life of Pi, and Jeff Boyes’ Lincoln — but stop by the link above to see the others while you’re here). Now we know. Did anyone expect these to be…free?

We’ll be keeping a close eye on this one as it develops, but feel free to sound off in the comments section below with your thoughts on the big reveal: excited about what the Academy and Gallery88 are putting together? Was this was you were expecting, or not so much? Anyone wanna admit to being the guy who started the Banksy rumor? Let us know below, and in the meantime: if you’re an artist or gallery with artwork you’d like to see featured on Limited Paper (or if you’re just some lucky bastard who happened to overhear a bit of poster-related gossip while standing in the bushes outside Martin Ansin’s house) we wanna hear from you! Email Limited Paper directly at LimitedPaper@gmail.com, and be sure that you’re following us on Twitter via @LimitedPaper for ongoing commentary, news updates, giveaways, and more!